Here in Heaven

Chapter 7

“I still think this was a terrible idea,” Mikey announced, reminding the other boys of his opinion for at least the tenth time.

Marcus laughed loud and hard, his white teeth flashing against his dark skin. They carefully chose their disguises. Then the five young men made an elaborate plan to get past warlock security. They even used spray to disguise their wolf scents. And at Mikey’s insistence, they also made an escape plan and chose a meetup spot in case they were attacked and separated as they tried to enter the party.

All of their plans proved totally unnecessary. By the time the young shifters arrived, the party was in full swing. Even the warlock that was standing near the door checking invitations had a drink in his hand. The man barely glanced at the card Marcus held up for his inspection before waving the group inside.

Roman’s pack was one of the largest and richest wolf packs in all of North America. He lived in their giant packhouse his entire life. He had visited other packs and stayed as a guest in their packhouses. But even he was awed by the sheer size and layout of the Midnight Shadow mansion. The entryway was huge. The double doors alone were twice his height. Once he got through the entryway, the place opened up inside, revealing a huge ballroom. There was a giant double staircase on the far side. Smaller sets of stairs led up to small balconies and alcoves that overlooked the party. Some even led into small private rooms. His view of what was inside those was blocked by sets of sheer gold curtains. There were three different bar areas and droves of waiters and waitresses serving drinks and small tidbits. A stage was set up and a live band was playing. The middle of the room was being used as a dance floor. Around the edges, plush chairs and small velvet sofas were arranged so people could relax and watch the dancing.

Drew leaned in close and whispered into Roman’s ear.

“These haints really know how to throw a damn party!,” he exclaimed.

Roman nodded. He couldn’t help but agree. His pack held lots of different parties and celebrations. But he had never seen anything quite like this. The guests were dressed immaculately in tuxedos or suits and evening gowns. Most of them were warlocks. But there were also some other supernaturals and even some humans mixed into the crowd. Drew snatched two glasses of champagne off a passing tray. He downed them one after the other before shoving the empty flutes at Mikey and heading straight out onto the dance floor.

Mikey hollered after him, reminding Drew that they agreed to stay together. But the other man ignored him completely. Drew was wearing a copper colored mardi gras style mask that blended in with his red hair. As he stood a head above most of the crowd, Roman could follow him as he weaved through the sea of bodies. It didn’t take the man long before he had a half drunk human girl in his arms. Drew pulled her in, moving his body in time to the music. Roman laughed.

Jose followed Drew’s example and headed for the dance floor. Since he wasn’t quite as tall, he was quickly swallowed by the crowd. Roman headed for the closest bar with his best friend Marcus and his cousin Mikey close behind him. A pretty warlock girl smiled at Roman as she served him a tall glass of beer. All the wait staff were dressed in white shirts and black pants. They were also the only people in the room that were not wearing masks, which made them easier to pick out from the crowd. Marcus asked the girl for a margarita, while Mikey only took a club soda with lime. He sipped his non-alcoholic beverage nervously as he eyed the room filled with warlocks.

Marcus pointed to a table that was on the other side of the dance floor. Several members of the catering staff were serving up pieces of the biggest cake Roman had ever seen. It was seven tiers high and the bottom tier had to be at least four feet wide. Triple the size of Rose's wedding cake. The frosting was white with black lace designs. As they got closer, Roman could see that each layer was a different flavor of cake. A young woman wearing a white apron over her white shirt and black pants watched with wide eyes as the three handsome young men began grabbing at the small dessert plates of cake. Marcus grabbed three slices, balancing one plate on top of his margarita and juggling two plates in his other hand. Even Mikey didn’t let his nervousness over their location deter his wolflike appetite.

Roman took a large swallow of beer as he looked over the vast selection of cake flavors. He started to reach for a slice of dark chocolate when suddenly he froze. His wolf Riff began to fight him for control, pacing and whining in his mind. The most amazing smell was coming from the table in front of him. It was like a freshly brewed coffee with melted chocolate mixed in. Roman shifted his hips, trying to adjust his pants now that they had suddenly become uncomfortably tight. He lifted a piece of the dark chocolate cake and smelled it, trying to locate the source of the amazing smell.

It's not the cake that smells like that! Our mate is here! MATE! MATE! MATE!

Roman shook his head, trying to clear his mind of Riff’s wild and excited chatter. He set the slice of chocolate cake back down. Before he knew it he was on the other side of the table. The smell was slightly stronger but was fading quickly. Roman sniffed at the girl in the apron, sticking his nose almost directly into her hair. She smelled of citrus and the cake she was serving. Not unpleasant, but certainly not his mate. The girl squealed and jerked away from him.

“Sorry,” Roman said, quickly backing away.

MATE! WE HAVE TO FIND MATE! FIND MATE NOW!

Roman took a deep breath as he continued to back away from the desert table. He knew his eyes had gone black. Riff was fighting him for control. Roman was usually so in sync with his wolf, having to force the animal back was new to him. Riff! I need you to calm down. We can’t find her if you get us kicked out of this party. Riff was still agitated but Roman could feel him reluctantly retreat into the back of his mind. He was still breathing hard and pacing, but he had stopped trying to force Roman to shift in the middle of a warlock party.

Wolf shifters were known for having a heightened sense of smell. And as an alpha, Roman’s was even stronger. But even he wasn’t sure how to find his mate in a party this large. There were people everywhere. Plus all the food and the drink and the acrid smell of magic. All the smells were mixed together. Picking out one particular scent, even though it was a scent he would never forget, was next to impossible.

Roman started at the perimeter of the dance floor. He circled the room, focusing on his sense of smell. MATE! Riff smelled her near the giant double staircase. But her scent was even more faded than it had been at the dessert table. One Roman had searched the outer corners of the room, he began to move in towards the dance floor. He pushed his way through the throng of moving bodies as gently as he could. He caught small whiffs of his mate here and there, but her scent was quickly overpowered by the crowd.

There! Straight ahead! I can smell her! MATE!

Roman caught a glimpse of his mate. She was facing away from him. She gathered her long raven hair up on top of her head as she fanned herself. Her amazing chocolate mocha scent filled the air as she dropped her hair and let it fall down her back in ripping waves. Another man wrapped his arms around her. Roman felt the rage rising inside him. No man had the right to touch what was his. He surged towards the girl, not being as careful about knocking into people as he had been before he spotted her. But before he could reach her, the girl disappeared. Where she had been standing only a moment before, there was not only a puff of gray smoke and the taste of magic in the air. Roman knew his eyes had gone completely black with fury. Riff’s anger matched his own as he howled and screamed inside Roman’s mind.

Someone just shimmered away with our f*****g mate!